RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #388: Air Drums
Last week I was driving to work, travelling down King St, flash drive in mp3 player, filling the car with Roky Erickson and the Aliens. I consider myself a safe and aware driver (so does my driving record), and I’m always paying attention to what’s around me. I caught a glimpse in the rearview mirror of a guy who looked familiar, so at the next red lights, I checked to see if he was my friend Kyle.
No, it wasn’t Kyle…but what I saw was a guy who, in an alternate reality, may have been my soul mate.
There he was in the front seat of his blue Hyundai, so filthy that it initially appeared black, air drumming up a storm!
I couldn’t stop staring for the duration of that red light. He was laying the beat down! He was playing some big fills. I imagined he might have been rocking out to Rush. He was also clearly singing lead vocals as he drummed. His cymbal work was quite good, superior to mine in fact. I admired his technique for a while, before the light turned green.
The gentleman turned off on the westboard 401, while I headed east. I wondered who he was, and if we may have been friends in another lifetime.
I sure have some work to do on my air drumming to get up to his level!
It’s a shame I lost my original 1993 review of this album.
GEORGE LYNCH – Sacred Groove (1993 Elektra)
If you like Dokken but never followed George onto the Lynch Mob, then this album is for you.
George Lynch is a very talented shredder, capable of playing a wide variety of styles. Sometimes he hits, sometimes he misses, but on Sacred Groove he makes the mark every time. Sacred Groove was designed as a solo project shortly after the second Lynch Mob album. The idea was to work and write with different singers and musicians, and George loaded up on some great singers. Glenn Hughes, anyone?
John Cuniberti, who co-helmed many Joe Satriani albums, produced this opus and lent it some serious sonic excellence. The opener “Memory Jack” is a collaboration between producer and guitarist, but this is little more than a sound collage to kick off a killer instrumental called “Love Power From the Mama Head”. This isn’t to say that “Memory Jack” does not contain some shredding licks, because it does…but they are not the focus. The sound collage itself is the focus. Into “Love Power”, George lays down some serious riffy rhythm guitars. This is topped with a very Satriani-esque guitar melody. “Love Power” is constructed very much like a Satch rock instrumental track, with memorable guitar melodies and song structures.
There is a very cool moment in the guitar solo in “Love Power From the Mama Head”, at exactly 4:47. While George was essentially assaulting his guitar with the whammy bar, he accidentally dropped the instrument on the studio floor. “Shit!” said George, while producer Cuniberti ran over and stopped George from picking it up. The producer then kicked the guitar for added effect! Cuniberti assured George it would sound cool, and it kind of does! The guitar just stops on this weird chord-like sound, before they punch out of that and into more shredding. It’s different and spontaneous and I love shit like that.
“Flesh and Blood”, contender for best track on the album, is the first vocal, featuring Badlands’ Ray Gillen (R.I.P.). It’s a Dokken stomper for sure, but with Ray Gillen’s bluesy Coverdale-isms all over it. Killer. The lyrics were co-written by George’s ex-Dokken bandmate Jeff Pilson, who also co-wrote and plays bass on the next track, “We Don’t Own This World”.
Now here’s the interesting thing about “We Don’t Own This World”. Lyrics by: Don Dokken? The fuck?
George, Don and Jeff had planned to reunite on this one song, that Don supplied the lyrics for. Don however cancelled or chickened out (either/or) and didn’t make it to the session. It just so happened that the Nelson twins, Matthew and Gunnar, were in town and eagerly sang on the track in Don’s absence. With their harmonies, “We Don’t Own This World” sounds nothing like Dokken, except in basic ways. It’s the most commercial track on the album; a pop rocker. The vocals soar over one killer melody, and the solo is one of George’s best. If this song had come out only two years sooner, it would have been a hit single. The Nelsons have done some cool music over the years, and not gotten a lot of credit for it, so this song is pure delight.
I still think of CDs as “albums” with distinct sides, and on the cassette version “I Will Remember” closed Side One. This instrumental ballad has a vaguely dark tropical feel, although it is an electric guitar song. George’s solos are sublime and I love his unexpected timing on certain notes. He has flawless chops mixed with feel…a rare combination.
Side Two’s opener is an epic in two parts, but it’s as close to a skip as this album gets. The problem is vocalist Mandy Lion, of WWIII. You either like his glass-garling-elfin-metal voice or you do not. I do not. However, “The Beast” Parts I and II are such a slamming groove that I tend to block out the words and the voice singing them. This is another track where the original vocalist slated could not do it. Udo Dirkschneider wanted too much money and Rob Halford was too busy, but Mandy Lion would do it. He showed up at the studio in the heat of summer wearing head to toe black leather.
“The Beast” could be a dirty sex anthem, I guess, but it’s far too heavy for the 50 Shades crowd. I dig when halfway through, George breaks out his newly-bought sitar. (I remember seeing pictures of George in Metal Edge magazine buying it!) If only Mandy would have chosen to shut up at this moment. Bassist Chris Solberg comes in and grooves through to a false ending, and then it’s “Part II (Addiction to the Friction)” — a 10 minute track in total. Thankfully a huge chunk of it is instrumental.
The regal Glenn Hughes raises the bar any time he opens his mouth. His two songs were the first new Hughes singing I had heard since Black Sabbath. I detect some fragility in his voice here. I think this may be from a period where Glenn was recovering from addictions. Regardless, he sounds a lot better today, whatever the reasons are. That’s not to say he’s bad here, because he’s still the best singer on the album. You just feel he’s not giving it everything like he does today.
“Not Necessary Evil” is Glenn’s first song, a Dokken groove with Hughes’ soulful signature style. This one too had hit single potential, but only in an alternate timeline in which Rock never fell to the Grunge Hordes in 1991. “Cry of the Brave” is his second track, a slower and more soulful rock track. This is a song about injustice to the American Indian (reading the lyrics, I’m assuming specifically Leonard Peltier), and it’s worth noting that Glenn wrote the lyrics by himself.
The album closes with a final instrumental called “Tierra Del Fuego”, and if you couldn’t guess, that means George breaks out the flamenco guitar. There’s also a guest electric guitar soloist named Daryl Gable. If I remember the story correctly, Daryl Gable was a lucky fan who was selected to have a guest shot on the album. How cool is that? And he’s pretty good, too! I have to admit I like these dusky tropical flamenco things, so I consider “Tierra Del Fuego” to be a very successful album closer. But fear not, there’s plenty of electric guitar too!
Sacred Groove is pretty damn near flawless. If only they could have got Udo instead of Mandy, eh?
Every good Canadian that was alive and rocking in the mid-80’s remembers the music video: The dudes are breaking rocks in the quarry, in chains. Then the singer stands up and yells, “Gimme an R! O! C! K! Whatcha got? Rock! And whatcha gonna do? Rock you!” And then, freedom! It’s just one of those great 80’s rock music videos, and it’s only one of many on this DVD. Here, you get ’em all from the Capitol years.
The videos are not in chronological order, which would be my preferred arrangement. The DVD commences with the award winning “Running Wild in the 21st Century” featuring Snake the Tattooed Man from London Ontario. The older classics range from edgy to campy, but are always cool in their own way. My preference is towards the live on stage type of video, like the exciting “Wild in the Streets”. On the other hand, “The Kids are all Shakin'” is undeniably fun, with Brian Vollmer playing multiple characters from an old man to a radio DJ. You can’t help but chuckle in your beer.
There are also a handful of rarities here, including the “topless” version of “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” that you definitely won’t see on MuchMusic. “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” was only played on Much, like, twice. So it’s pretty rare too. What’s missing is the alternate version of “Wild In The Street” that I have somewhere on a VHS tape, and any sort of special extras like interviews. Also, I have to say that I wish the video for “That Day Is Gonna Come” was on here. It is my all time favourite Helix video but it wasn’t on Capitol. It was on Aquarius.
[I have a buddy, Rob, who used to work for Rogers TV. He told me that he had seen and knew where the tape was for the original “Heavy Metal Love” video. They did an early version of it in T-shirts and jeans, before they changed their image to black leather. Rob offered to copy it for me but I didn’t believe him so I said no!]
Great little DVD. Extra interviews would have been awesome. However a lot of that stuff is available on other Helix DVDs. (Check ’em out.) S.E.X. Rated has one last bonus going for it — it is encoded for NTSC on one side, and PAL on the other. No matter where you are, you can buy it and enjoy the classic videos of 80’s Helix.
4/5 stars
How fucking cool does Brent Doerner look in every single video?
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #386: ‘The Mighty Priest’ – A Mix CD
In January of 2009, I determined to make another mix CD for my best friend Peter. He really enjoyed them and wanted some more tunes from the LeBrain Library. The theme this time was Judas Priest. We had both been playing the video game Rock Band a lot, and I enjoyed singing lead on the song “Painkiller”, so we played that one frequently. Peter decided that he wanted to check out some Priest, so I worked very hard to make a CD suited to his own personal needs. I set out five constraints to my Mighty Priest mix:
1. Peter only knew three Priest songs: “Painkiller”, “Breaking The Law”, and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”.
2. Peter generally hates slow songs. Therefore, unfortunately, I could not include classics like “Dreamer Deceiver”.
3. I always try to include a variety of tracks from as many albums as I can.
4.Must be limited to a single CD.
5. One rare track – my trademark is always sneaking in a rarity.
So I whittled down the 50 songs I started with to the nice and cozy 79 minutes you see below. Keeping in mind my self-imposed constraints, what would you have done differently?
I sought feedback, and I received feedback. My ever faithful rock compatriots had these words:
Uncle Meat: Well…Michael…valiant effort. It is a good mix of new and old Priest. But…no “Electric Eye”? What is wrong with you? I cant even believe you would make this list without including it. That “Turbo Lover” is on here…and not “Electric Eye”…kinda makes me feel dirty…unloved. And?!?!?! No “Freewheel Burning”? . I’m getting mighty confused Mr. Ladano. No “Sinner”? “Heading out to the Highway”? I know their catalogue is extensive…but the omission of “Electric Eye” especially is very disturbing….
Sarge: No “Metal Gods”? Actually I only ever owned British Steel, so I cant comment on anything. “Metal Gods” was always my favourite on that album.
Andy: I’m going to have to register an alternate opinion entirely, and that is, with any band that’s been around as long as Priest has, and has done as many albums as they have, simply cannot be captured in a “best of” that is only one CD. You just can’t do it – there’s too much good stuff, even disqualifying the “slow” songs like you did. I tried it with Manowar, and ended up with a full CD after their first four albums. I’ll be doing my personal The Best of Manowar, Volume II sometime soon….
So what I would have done differently is this: Go in chronological order, and put in all of the absolute “must have” songs from each album (remembering the rules for your friend, of course). Don’t overlap songs from one album on more than one CD, so you might have to juggle the playlist a little. Then, when CD #1 is full, move on to Volume 2. Eventually, hand over your two (or in the case of Priest, maybe 3!) CDs to your friend, apologizing that you simply couldn’t fit it all onto 1.
Johnny Sixx: What I would have done is include their track “Love Bites”…it’s a gem.
All of them made excellent points, and I think it must be concluded that a truly great single disc Judas Priest collection cannot be made. As Uncle Meat said, I think I made a valiant effort, but 80 minutes is simply not enough time for the Mighty Priest. The next time I attempted to do something like this, I went with Andy’s advice in the back of my head…
Those who were displeased with 1986’s 5150 album were optimistic about the next Van Halen. “I heard it’s supposed to be heavier like old Van Halen,” were the whispers in the highschool halls. “More like the stuff with David Lee Roth.” Even though Van Hagar plotted their own course with tremendous success, there were and always will be factions that prefer Diamond Dave. It is all but impossible to review a Van Hagar CD without asking, “is it as good as the classic records?”
I like OU812, a lot. It’s probably my favourite Van Hagar album and I’ve liked it since it came out. It is a little harder than 5150, and it does sport old school Van Halen shuffles like some from the days of old. I would often argue that where Sammy Hagar fumbled in Van Halen is in the lyrical department. But few of his lyrics on OU812 outright suck, and some are pretty cool. Eddie’s guitar tone was beefier than it was on 5150. Most importantly, the band were all fired up and still writing great rock songs and ballads.
Keyboards remained on the new album, as heard on opener “Mine All Mine”. The context now was a harder rock song, and they work effectively. Hagar turns in a surprisingly penetrative lyric regarding religion and self reliance. “You got Allah in the East, Jesus in the West — Christ, what’s a man to do?” sings Sammy, never one to mince his words. The breakneck track serves as an excellent starter for the new Van Halen.
“When It’s Love” kills the momentum momentarily. It was a huge hit and also happened to be Van Halen’s first actual “music video” since David Lee Roth quit the band years before. As far as ballads go, it’s edgier than “Love Walks In” or “Dreams”, although I don’t think it’s as good as either of those. Thankfully the boys chase this with the weird-titled “A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)”. This blazingly fast Van Halen shuffle isn’t too dissimilar from the style of song the band used to do with Dave. Eddie, of course, knocks everybody down with his impossible licks. Meanwhile, drummer Alex Van Halen gleefully enjoys the odd beats and searing tempo.
One of the best Van Hagar songs of all time closed side one, and it’s the song that loaned its name to an award-winning tequila: “Cabo Wabo”. A laid back summer classic, I challenge even the most cynical fan to not tap their toes during “Cabo Wabo”. Hell, feel free to air-drum along. Eddie lays down some juicy chords in that trademark brown sound.
“Source of Infection”, side two’s opening song, is barely a song at all. I have always been convinced that Sammy ran out of time and didn’t have any lyrics written for this song so he just went in and sang stuff. We know that Van Halen were indeed rushed in the studio. I think “Source of Infection” is evidence of that, as there are barely any words to it.
Hey! Alright! Woo! How ’bout ‘cha now, come on! Oh yeah! Dig it! That’s right Is everybody ready? Let’s go!
(Movin’ up and down) Up ‘n down (Round and round) Oh, round and round (Movin’ up and down) In ‘n out (Round and round) Yeow!
Crank it! Blow out! Uh! Ouch! Help me Now flip on over Oh baby, you know that I like it (Woop! Woop! Woop!)
I think I’ve made my point.
It’s actually a smoking track, one of the heaviest Van Hagar blazers ever recorded, but to call it a “song” would be too generous and misleading.
I’ve been on record here for trashing Van Hagar ballads in the past, but I really like “Feels So Good”! It’s the bright upbeat one. Eddie’s keyboard sound on it is unique. You have to give Eddie credit as a keyboardist, because that is so overshadowed by his guitar playing. Eddie has always manufactured cool keyboard hooks, and accompanied them with an identifiably unique keyboard tone. “Feels So Good” continues that tradition. Top that with an Eddie solo complete with two-handed tapping and tricks, and you have a flawless Van Hagar pop rock track.
The country-flavoured “Finish What Ya Started” is one of the best top 40 hits about blue balls that I can think of. I suffered from a high level of burnout from this track in ’88-’89, due to its saturation on radio and MuchMusic, but you can certainly hear why radio went for it. The blue balls theme probably went right over their heads, and it’s accessible with plenty of incredible guitar hooks. You just don’t hear Eddie playing like this often. I also have to praise Alex’s snare drum sound here, so full and authentic.
“Black and Blue” was actually the first single, although no video was made for it. It’s a slower Van Halen blues groove, but I don’t think it holds up particularly well after repeated listens. (I caught hell for playing this album at work once, because Sammy sings “Bitch sure got the rhythm,” on this song.) And unfortunately I don’t think “Sucker in a 3 Piece” is particularly awesome either. It’s probably the weakest track on the album, although I remember one kid at school thought it was the best one, so there you go! “Only Eddie Van Halen could come up with ‘Sucker in a 3 Piece’,” he praised. I don’t see what his fuss was all about.
There was a CD bonus track on this, a rare novelty back in 1988. I already had “A Apolitical Blues” on the flipside of the “Black and Blue” single. For the first time since Diver Down, a cover (Little Feat) on a Van Halen album! Granted, only on the CD version, but still. On MuchMusic, Eddie explained how this song was recorded about as low-tech as you can get: four guys, two microphones, one room. It sounded great on that scratchy old 45, but it’s not as memorable as a Van Halen cover can be.
Interesting and sometimes annoying factoids about the albums:
1. No producer is listed anywhere in the credits. There is only “Recorded by Donn Landee”.
2. The tracks are irritatingly and purposely listed in the wrong order on the back cover, and in the lyric book. They are alphabetical. Who does that anymore?
4/5 stars
Final note: A rare 3″ CD single with a remix of “Finish What Ya Started” and the album version of “Sucker in a 3 Piece” found its way into our store. It came in with no packaging, so I bought it and stuck it in with my CD of OU812 as “disc 2” in a 2 CD case. The remix version is notable for not being audibly different from the album version in any detectable way!
DOUBLE DOSE OF FU MANCHU Check out Mr.1537‘s review of this same album (except on vinyl)! Right HERE!
FU MANCHU – King of the Road (1999 Mammoth)
Of course it had to be Iron Tom Sharpe, Meaford’s Greatest Athlete, that introduced me to Fu Manchu. It was at a Record Store staff party, and the song he was obsessed with was “Saturn III” from The Action is Go (as recounted in Tyler and LeBrain episode two). Since collecting most of the Fu Manchu albums, I’ve managed to boil it down to three favourites. Of these favourites, King of the Road from ’99 may be their best album.
If you don’t know Fu Manchu, they are certainly not for everybody. Lumped into the stoner rock scene, their repetitive drone-y songs are not commercial enough for many rock fans. Lyrics are about cars, skateboards and UFOs are not typical rock fare. The half-spoken half-sung vocals of Scott Hill are very different. Yet these are some of the factors that make them Fu Manchu. On top of the cake, the incredible drummer Brant Bjork played on some of the albums, including King of the Road. Ready for the ride?
The appropriately titled “Hell on Wheels” opens the proceedings on a decidely adrenalized note. That repetitive detuned riff enables the band, powered by the inimitable Bjork, to groove their way through your skull. “So put the keys in my hand! In my hand!” sings Scott Hill, over and over again. The lyrics are straight and to the point: “El Camaro never dies, look closely and you’ll know why.” So it’s one of the car songs, then! I strongly advise you to exercise caution if choosing to play King of the Road in the car. Traffic tickets are your responsibility, not mine.
“Hell on Wheels” fades into “Over the Edge”, pure groove at a mid-tempo pace. One doesn’t necessarily have to differentiate between Fu Manchu songs in a review. They all feature heavy-as-fuck repetitive riffs, Hill’s unmistakable flat vocal stylings, and an unstoppable groove. It’s just a matter of fast, slow or in-between. “Over the Edge” is absolutely an album highlight on a CD containing little else. “Boogie Van” is less a highlight but boasts a vintage-Sabbath style riff and some cool slide courtesy of Bob Balch. Then the doors are blown off the place on the title track, similar to “Hell on Wheels” in speed but even more intense. It’s one of the UFO songs, but the lyrics are as muddy as the music:
Under forty over is UFO, Hell bent, stacked in rows, The galaxy is lined with hundreds more, Small town, you bet we’re sure, All through my head, It’s happenin’ over again, As the day is long, they keep movin’ on.
As this sucker builds towards its end, I dare you to try and not bang your head. It’s my favourite song on the album.
King of the Road says you move too slow
After a ride like that, you need to come down, and “No Dice” does the trick with a groove right in the pocket. “No shoes, no shirt, no dice!” sings Scott, and for a while I really wanted to post a sign that said that on the door of the Record Store. (They never let me have any fun!)
Kicking back now, “Blue Tile Fever” keeps the grooving movin’. “It’s all brand new, just like I told you,” is the repetitive vocal hook, and Bjork gives you some tasty cowbell to gnaw on. Bob Balch’s squirrely lead guitar stylings keeps things interesting. “Grasschopper” is cool but not as hooky as the previous songs. That’s alright, because “Weird Beard” (the theme song of Iron Tom Sharpe himself) is hilariously catchy. My sister started calling Tom “weird beard” a few years earlier because of his sometimes unique facial hair stylings. When Fu Manchu came out with a song called “Weird Beard”, I couldn’t stop chuckling. No idea what this one’s about at all, but dig that groove!
Wikipedia tells us that the next song “Drive” was only on the North American version of King of the Road. Other territories got a song called “Breathing Fire” (wishlisted!). “Drive” kicks ass at maximum rpm. Brant Bjork and Bob Balch keep it interesting, while bassist Brad Davis keeps the groove going with pedal to the metal. (Do not play while driving!) Once again a comedown is necessary and “Hotdoggin'” does the trick as a slow cruiser. The surprise is the closer, “Freedom of Choice”, a Devo cover. It’s surprising because of how heavy they make it.
The CD is “enhanced” and contains the music video for “King of the Road”, as well as the single “Evil Eye” from The Action is Go. (So you can consider “Evil Eye”, an awesome tune with a cool video, as a bonus track.) This outdated technology never really worked well in the first place and now with YouTube, nobody cares anymore. It’s there if you want to check it out.
There are a few Fu Manchu albums that I would bestow the coveted 5/5 upon. King of the Road is one.
I’ve reviewed almost every single Quiet Riot album now. Only Guilty Pleasures awaits of the studio albums I have left to cover. Why did I leave 1984’s Condition Critical for so long? As the follow-up to Metal Health, you’d think I would have tackled it already. But I didn’t even have the album ripped to my computer.
As a half-arsed Metal Health clone, I’ve never felt like Condition Critical deserved a lot of time spent on it. I received it in 1985, and it has never been an album I have particularly cared for. I still think today that most of the songs are not very good. At that, almost every song is an inferior clone of a prior one on Metal Health:
“Sign of the Times” = “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)”
“Mama Weer all Crazee Now” (Slade cover) = “Cum On Feel the Noize” (Slade cover)
“Winners Take All” = “Thunderbird”
And so on and so forth. Spencer Proffer returned to produce, so even sonically Conditional Critical is all but a clone of the previous record. I’m sure the guys thought they were repeating the magic to take them back to the top of the charts. How wrong they were! Most of the new songs were written solely by Kevin DuBrow, and it feels rushed.
Condition Critical still retains some of the fun of Metal Health. Although not as good, the dumb-titled “Stomp Your Hands, Clap Your Feet” is plenty fun just like Quiet Riot classics. “Party all Night” is also a hoot, and you have to admit that the guys did make a pretty hilarious music video for it. Quiet Riot broke with the help of MTV, and they at least retained their knack for making an amusing music video.
On side two of the album there was hidden a serious heavy tune, the title track “Condition Critical”. This slow grinder is one of those great lost tracks that you can only get on the album. Banali breaks the levee with some solid drums. Songs like this make tracking down the record worthwhile for those willing to give it a shot.
On the other hand, I had a friend who said “Winners Take All” is probably the worst Quiet Riot song of all time.
VAN HALEN – Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (2015 Warner)
I’d like to begin this review by diving head-on into the thick of it. Everybody’s been talking about Dave’s voice. It’s all anybody seems to talk about regarding the new Van Halen Tokyo Dome Live in Concert CD. Even Sammy Hagar, always eager to open his mouth and opine on all things Halen, had this to say:
“I’m trying to tread lightly on the whole thing. Every time they do something, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, can these guys do anything worse to their reputation and to the level of the music of the band?’”
Sammy couldn’t be more wrong (or bitter sounding).
Newsflash: the new Van Halen is good!
Sonically, this CD is monstrous. The bottom end sounds so good, and what a bottom end it is! Lil’ Wolfgang Van Halen has become quite a bassist, which surely comes as no surprise. His vocals with pa Eddie keep the melody grounded while David Lee Roth freestyles it. No, he doesn’t sound like Michael Anthony, but surely you knew that by now. I have always loved Mike’s backing vocals. But Mike’s not coming back to Van Halen, and if you miss Mike that much, Chickenfoot have two excellent albums for you to pick up.
The setlist: in a word, phenomenal. All seven DLR-VH albums are mined for hits and deep cuts. This means that you get to hear tracks like “Romeo Delight”, which I bet you never thought you’d hear live again. “I’ll Wait”, “Ice Cream Man”, “Beautiful Girls”…almost all of my favourites are here! But what really blew my mind was “Hear About It Later”, one of my desert island tracks, from Fair Warning. I understand that the setlists were often decided between Dave and Wolfie, and you sure can’t find much fault in their choices. The only one I didn’t particularly care for in the live setting was the recent single “Tattoo”, with its taped backing vocals. It’s kind of an oddball Van Halen track as it is.
Now, Dave’s vocals: They are what they are. There are moments he’s out of breath, wheezing, and missing notes. They are fewer than you’d expect. I think one thing that didn’t help this album’s early reputation was that they released some questionable preview tracks. Dave’s vocals on “Panama” are not as hot as they are on something like “Ice Cream Man”. Definitely, he does better on some songs than others, but he succeeds in injecting every line with that Dave “charasma”. He cheats his way around certain melodies, and speaks where he used to sing, but other singers his age do the same thing. Rob Halford changes the vocal melody live quite often. So, given that age and time do things to the human voice, and given that Dave is a smoker, you cannot compare Roth in 2013 to Roth in 1983. (Let’s just hope that some day, we get a CD/DVD set of that US Festival, eh?) And keep in mind: Roth’s so-so vocals are only proof that this album is live, no tampering in the mix (unlike the live album they did with Sammy which was heavily re-recorded).
Last, but certainly not least: Edward Van Halen himself. It seems kind of pointless to say “he’s playing awesome”, but I do think it’s important to get it out there. He’s had health scares, and he definitely hit a low point back in 2003. His singing and playing here is awesome. There is nobody in the world who sounds like Eddie Van Halen, though there are many who have tried. In a blind taste test, 100% of Van Halen fans chose Eddie.
Filler: Alex’s drum solo “Me & You”, a tropical jazz inflected moment that simply does not fit the show. But the guys are getting up there and a mid-show drum solo gives Dave and Eddie a chance to rest for a few minutes. In every other way, Alex Van Halen is awesome on this album.
I recommend any serious Van Halen fan to ignore the hype (and Sammy) and pick up Tokyo Dome Live. It’s cheap (about $13-15), it sounds excellent (it’s self-produced) and it has all the songs you want. After all, we didn’t spend all these years moaning that we wanted Dave back in the band, only to bitch and complain about the live album, did we?
I remember being very excited when this album came out due to the powerful first single “Wild Child”. I had enjoyed previous Scorpions albums well enough — Face The Heat, Live Bites — due to some great singles. Face the Heat in particular showed that the Scorpions were still interested in playing heavy music, via the first single “Alien Nation”. I could have handled some more of that. Pure Instinct, however, is ballad-ridden dreck with no energy and no inspiration.
We all know that since the 80’s, the Scorpions have had tremendous success with ballads. “Still Loving You” has become a signature song, and one of their biggest hits ever was 1990’s “Wind of Change”. The problem is that Scorpions are a rock band, and Pure Instinct is over half-full with ballads!
I mentioned “Wild Child” as a standout track, and it is. But even as a hard rock track, it is very commercial. It’s a lot more pop than “Rock You Like a Hurricane” or “Big City Nights”, though it does boast some enormous hooks. It is the opening song, and unfortunately it’s all a downhill snooze from there, more or less.
Longtime Scorpion Herman Rarebell departed after Live Bites, so the band employed a session drummer (Curt Cress), while sounding like they are on autopilot. Ballad after ballad after ballad…this gives you, the ballad-loving listener, almost half an hour of ballads. The single “You And I” alone is over 6 minutes long! Most of the rest of the tracks are flat, dull, and uninspired.
The few highlights include the first track “Wild Child”, the uptempo “Stone In My Shoe”, and the ballady-but-still-decent “Where The River Flows”. And that is about it.
The Japanese bonus track, which I have on the single for “You and I”, was called “She’s Knocking At My Door”, which although it was a rocker was also pretty bland.
It would only get worse — the next Scorpions album Eye II Eye has been likened to Savage Garden! I never bought it and haven’t listened to it since it came out.
2/5 stars. Avoid unless you want to buy it for the three good songs.
VAN HALEN – Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (2015 Warner)
It came especially late, but alas we finally have a live Van Halen album featuring David Lee Roth. Tokyo Dome Live in Concert was recorded on March 22 2013 during VH’s last tour. It’s not the band’s first live album as there has been a live Van Hagar release, but it’s the first with Diamond Dave which fans had been asking for, for decades now. This lineup features the Van Halen brothers (of course) Alex and Eddie with David Lee Roth, and Wolfgang Van Halen au lieu of original bassist Michael Anthony. One has to ask “why a live album at this point late in their career?” but it’s better late than never l suppose. Van Halen’s classic lineup and first six albums with DLR from 1978-84 have touched and inspired generations. It’s all-time classic rock, and there are plenty of masterpieces and classics to be found. The band knows this too, as they perform the songs that everyone wants to hear from those six albums along with a few from the current lineup’s 2012 output A Different Kind of Truth.
The setlist is incredible! I mean seriously look at it (they open with “Unchained”) and tell me that it’s not damn well near perfect. All the hits are there along with favourites and that’s one of the album’s strengths and main appeal. I don’t think l would’ve taken anything out. I wouldn’t have added much more either. Anyone who complains is just nitpicking. I would’ve wanted to see “You And Your Blues” from ADKOT instead of “Chinatown”* but that’s about as picky as l can be. Everything l could’ve asked for is here. Two discs and 25 songs (one is a drum solo) at this price is excellent. Those things l can’t complain about.
Now let’s address the elephant in the room. Yeah THAT one! Roth’s singing. Sometimes he completely leaves out lines, his timing is off or at the very last second, and occasionally he’ll almost talk instead of singing. To his credit he’s getting up there in age and moves a lot during live performances, it’s not getting any easier for him and l know criticism of his voice will be harsh towards this release. I’m trying not to be too harsh, while remaining objective. Granted he doesn’t sound great and there some not so good moments, but Diamond Dave was never truly an amazing singer to begin with. Less so live. He was always known to be the charismatic and energetic frontman and no one could touch him.
One of my favourite moments has Dave being Dave, during the beginning of “Pretty Woman” where he goes: “I know that song! (pause) I know that song! (pause) I fucking love that song!” On some songs he sounds good, some tolerable and some…awful.
People have mixed feelings to say the least about Wolfgang replacing Michael Anthony. I think it hurts them not to have Anthony around because his backing vocals were truly the band’s secret weapon and they improved Dave’s overall sound, something Wolfgang simply cannot do (he does sound a little better now), but he does get the job done on the bass guitar. The backing vocals are not awful, and they try their best (“You Really Got Me” is a good effort) but they could have used Anthony’s presence. Alex Van Halen has lost nothing with the years and plays incredible. The “Me & You” piece is amazing. Eddie does what he does best, and surprises us at times adding things here and there being the player we know he is. I can’t say that they really live up to their past glory, but very few bands can and at the end of the day it’s a fun performance.
The sound is very raw and bare-bones, it doesn’t sound like it was overdubbed at all which is one of Tokyo Dome‘s best qualities. I think they were going for a bit of a bootleg sound, not too much as clearly this exceeds a bootleg, but Van Halen wanted a real raw, gritty and heavy feel. Now the audience is essentially nowhere to be found. I own lots of live albums and this has got to be one of the quietest crowds l’ve heard for Van Halen (and a rock concert for that matter). I can only assume they turned them down during the mixing.
On a side note, I think it was a missed opportunity to film the show and have it released as a CD/DVD package**. I think it would have helped gather even more interest in the band and Tokyo Dome. I’m just glad we finally have some new Van Halen out, and a live one with Dave.
Is it perfect? No. Does it have it’s flaws? Yes. Could it have been more? Well l think if you don’t expect too much out out of Van Halen you will find much to enjoy. The guys are a little older, Dave’s voice has aged and it’s 3/4 of the classic lineup but they can still deliver a good performance and entertain you. Some will completely rip on Dave’s voice and l get it (STOP CHEWING GUM WHILE YOU SING!), it’s the main reason l’m giving Tokyo Dome 3 stars. It does make you long for a proper live release from the early 80’s. The musicianship though, is very good and the setlist incredible.
3/5 stars
*LeBrain disagrees. I like both songs, but “Chinatown” trumps “You and Your Blues”!
**LeBrain agrees. I don’t know why that wasn’t done.
GEORGE LYNCH – Sacred Groove (1993 Elektra)
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